Sadia cleared her throat. “Okay. It’s go time.”
Gabe was already downstairs, leaning against the door leading to the backyard, tall and handsome in a black suit with a lavender waistcoat. He smiled at all of them, but his eyes softened when they landed on Eve. She knew she was here to celebrate another couple’s wedding, but her own love was so overwhelming she wanted to weep sometimes.
After they’d gotten over the initial bumps, life with Gabe had become blessedly easy. She never had to wonder what he was thinking or whether he wanted her. He made it clear in a billion verbal and nonverbal ways.
It wasn’t a fairy tale, it was her fairy tale. Feeling was still hard, and occasionally she had to hide from all those sharp winds assaulting her from every direction. But always, when she poked her head out, Gabe was there, checking in to see if she was steady.
Like now, as he took a giant stride toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “You look beautiful.”
She carefully pecked his lips, conscious of her makeup. “So do you.”
Eve reared back as Sadia snapped her fingers between them. “Don’t mean to interrupt you lovebirds, but we have a wedding to pull off right now. Canoodle later.”
Gabe grinned and pulled away. “Don’t worry. Eve and I have this wedding party thing down to a science.”
He wasn’t exaggerating. This was their third trip down the aisle.
Gabe peered around her. “Aunt Maile, you’re stunning. So calm too.”
“Thank you, dear. I had some nerves up in the room, but they’ve settled. There’s no reason not to be calm. I have my family and the future.” Maile squared her shoulders, and Eve wondered if she was thinking about the moments ahead of her, and the moments that would come after that. They would be filled with pain, possibly, but also with joy and happiness. “I’m ready.”
Gabe offered his arm to Eve. “Shall we?”
She accepted it and beamed unselfconsciously up at him. Hiding her emotions around Gabe rarely occurred to her any longer. He was so careful with them, she felt no fear. “Absolutely.”
Gabe walked past the library and glanced in, coming to a stop when he noticed John sitting by himself in front of the fire, head tipped back, forehead creased. The reception had ended an hour ago, but the house was still filled with Kanes and Chandlers, many of them staying the night. Including him.
Concerned, he knocked lightly on the door. John roused and smiled at Gabe. “Come in, come in.”
Gabe hid his frown. John’s arthritis was getting worse every day, limiting his mobility. Though he didn’t complain to any of them, his increased pain was apparent, especially after a busy day like today.
Gabe came to crouch next to John’s chair and held out his hand, palm-up. After a second of hesitation, John placed his hands in Gabe’s, and Gabe gently rubbed them. John closed his eyes and released a deep sigh of relief.
They were silent for a long while, the fire crackling. “It’s good to have happy occasions in this house again.”
Gabe nodded, continuing his massage. “I’m sure it is.”
John looked up at the photo on the mantel. It was a picture of him and Sam Oka when they were boys growing up in California, taken before Tani’s father had been sent to an internment camp in Central Utah. The boys were smiling, arms flung around each other’s shoulders. Nicholas had recently made sure the photo was reinstated into a place of honor in every Chandler’s store across the country.
Gabe loved that photo. He could see Paul in the shape of Sam’s eyes, his lips. His grief over his late best friend still ached, but like a healed wound, not a fresh one. Talking about the man regularly with the other Kanes had helped more than anything.
“Do you know what Sam says?”
Lately, every conversation with John had turned to Sam or his late wife, the older man occasionally talking about them in the present tense. Eve and Nicholas were worried, but Gabe understood. John hurt, and his memories of the people he’d loved dearly brought him comfort. Pretending they were still around wasn’t harming anyone. “Nothing’s over ’til you quit.”
John’s smile was faint. “Yes. He also says happiness isn’t something you should take for granted. It should be savored, because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
“That’s a wise thing to say.” Gabe worked up the man’s hands, massaging his forearms.
“You could move in here with Eve, if you like.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow. Eve had moved into the mansion a month ago, concerned for her grandfather. “What?”
“If you want, I would not object. You don’t have to be married or anything. I understand you kids now. You love her, and she loves you.” John’s smile was tinged with exhaustion. “I’m going to ask Tani to come live here, too, since Maile and Ariel will probably be traveling a great deal. The house is so large, we may never run into each other, but we could still be a family.”
He released John’s hands. He loved his tidy little home, with the lawn he mowed himself. Buying it had been so satisfying. The thought of leaving it shouldn’t be easy.
However, this proposal, a chance to live with Eve, was so tempting he barely suppressed the urge to accept the offer on the spot.
